Question

A person eats food prepared on a kitchen counter covered with living infectious bacteria. Which of the following best describes an example of how the bacteria might resist the person's nonspecific immune defenses?

Phagocytes that try to engulf the bacteria are soon destroyed by enzymes produced by the bacteria.

B cells are blocked from binding to the bacteria antigens because of enzymes secreted by the bacteria.

Infection would not be able to destroy the bacteria.

Plasma cells that would normally mark the bacteria for destruction are avoided by the bacteria.

Answer 1

To be honest with you, I'm not 100% sure about the answer.

However, we DO know that "phagocytes" are part of our NON-SPECIFIC immune system.

NON-SPECIFIC means that it's meant to target ANY kind of pathogen,
and NOT a specific pathogen.

PHAGOCYTES are white blood cells that are supposed to EAT pathogens.
(PATHOGENS are things that cause disease in us. Like bacteria.)

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Take a look at our FIRST choice.

It talks about phagocytes trying to eat the bacteria.
But then, the phagocytes are destroyed by the bacteria.
So, the bacteria still live, and cause damage.

In other words,
it's talking about a NON-SPECIFIC immune response,
and how that response fails to work.

And in real life, this DOES happen, sometimes.
Sometimes, when our white blood cells try to eat and destroy pathogens,
the white blood cells are killed instead.

Answer 2

@InYourHead Nice work